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Sharing Meals

“And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people.” (Acts 2:46,47a)

This is the first of eight summaries which take place in the Book of Acts. They are times which describe life together in the early church, and from them we come to understand how the word of God went forth and how the church grew. There are other important elements in these descriptions, but I want to just focus on one. They ate together. These are the beginnings of the Agape feasts which become a feature in the early house churches. They may also have celebrated the Lord’s Supper as a part of these meals, but we know from this passage, “they received their food with glad and generous hearts…” they were happy to be together and to be sharing table fellowship with one another. The word for “generous” can mean “the absence of pretense, or simplicity and generosity.” It portrays an attitude of openness to one another with no need for performance or pretense. They could just be themselves, enjoying their food and their fellowship. And this led to times of praising God and favor with others. This simple act of enjoying being together, of being just who they were together, became an inviting mark of the early church.

We want to invite you to join in just such a meal with us on the Fourth of July. We know this is a day to celebrate the freedoms we have as a nation, but it can also be a time for folks to understand that just being together, enjoying a meal together, is a gift from God. So come and join us from 7:30 -10:00 am on the Fourth at the Scout Hut in Applegate Park. Bring your lawn chairs and plan to sit back and enjoy conversations with others from CPC throughout the morning. No need for pretense or performing, just enjoy this time with your church family. If you’d like to help, please let the Church Office know. I can’t wait to see you there!